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A Study on the Phenomenon of Zero Clicks in Search

DECEMBER 21, 2022

What good is ranking high on SERPs if people just aren’t clicking through? Search behavior has a huge impact on how marketers operate and optimize their sites. Part of Semrush’s State of Search explains the trends in “zero click” search.

3 Types of Zero Clicks

“Google” clicks: Actions that change the URL, but keep the user in Google, such as switching from the main SERP to Images, News, or Shopping.
Google keyword change: A new Google search with a different keyword or using a keyword suggestion.
Other zero clicks: All other cases of zero clicks during the two-minute mark of a search.

The Stats of the Study:

Zero Clicks are Higher on Desktop. People are more involved in and engaged with the experience on mobile than they are on desktop, which points to the rise in zero clicks and the demand for such ease of access.
Decision Times are Still Fast. The majority of users make a decision on where to click next within 5 seconds of a search.
Images are a Top Search Source. After a main search, Images are the next destination for users. That means your images better be optimized to rank.

Two Big Takeaways for User Journeys and Behaviors in Search:

It’s Gotta Be Fast: Google provides URL-less content with direct answers on the SERP to support ease of access for users. So while zero clicks bum out marketers yearning for traffic, users are simply after immediate, effective results from snippets or Direct Answers.
Complex User Journeys: The journey a user takes toward their ultimate destination may be more complex than some think. Because Google offers so many access points and formats in SERPs, user journeys are multiplied with options. Search is constantly adapting to user needs and behaviors.

What do you think of these findings? What’s your stance on zero clicks and how it’s affecting your SEO strategy?

Spotify Wrapped by the Numbers

DECEMBER 20, 2022

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: when Spotify Wrapped goes more viral than Influenza A. Since 2016, Spotify has packaged up your behavioral data and gifted you a snackable, shareable musical reflection of your year. You benefit from some social clout, and Spotify builds serious brand equity. Win-win.

The viral campaign has improved each year, dramatically increasing user engagement and tweet volume. 2022 is record-breaking in impressions, engagements, unique authors, and tweet volume. Within the first three days of its launch, 425,000,000 tweets mentioned Spotify Wrapped.

So, what can we learn from the success of Spotify Wrapped?

Optimize your content for social sharing. It has to be good enough to share on the grid, and you have to make it easy for users to do so.
Annual campaigns—which capitalize on a sense of ritual or tradition—have the potential to build major excitement.
Be a good sport and create brand-specific spoof content, like Guinness (“You spent 119.5 seconds waiting for your pint to settle”).

Check out the full Spotify Wrapped download over at Sprout Social.

Time to Revisit Your Professional Bio 🥱

DECEMBER 19, 2022

Here’s the thing about professional bios: no one likes writing them and no one likes reading them. Your bio is meant to introduce and represent you to your colleagues and clients, but it often reduces you to a sleepy list of jobs and skills and organizations. Inject some humanity into your professional bio with some personal trivia—and if you can’t think of a fun fact on the fly, here’s thirteen prompts to get you started:

Your childhood.
Your dream occupation.
Your first car.
Your hidden talents.
Your proudest accomplishments.
What you learned from your biggest mistake.
The most unusual item in your office.
Your favorite sports team.
Your pet.
Your guilty pleasure.
Your high school yearbook superlative.
Your best friend.
What’s on your bucket list.

Check out the full post on Entrepreneur for more inspiration on the professional bio.

Death to the Static Homepage 💀…What to Do Instead

DECEMBER 18, 2022

You only get one shot at a first impression. Where many companies fall short when it comes to making a good impression is their homepage. while you’d hope that your website is so good, people convert immediately, that’s not gonna happen.

So then why are so many companies using basic homepages that do…nothing?

How to Kill and Replace Your Boring, Static Homepage:

Your design has to be on point. According to a recent study, first impressions are 94% design related. So while imagery, typography, and overall aesthetic are very subjective, it just cannot be boring. Do the visuals convey the feeling you want? Does it inspire the visitor to take action? Does it guide a user’s eyes and scroll appropriately?
Check your site speed often. Page load times have the biggest impact on your website’s first impression. A 2-second delay can be a deal breaker to the majority of users! Check your server and site health often.
Focus on the customer experience. Direct users to your critical content and messaging “above the fold” so it’s the first thing they see and can navigate to.
Avoid flicker. This is tied heavily to you site speed, but “flicker” is when a webpage loads in one state and then quickly transitions to show a different website experience. It’s common for dynamic variations and personalized elements. To avoid this, use strong development practices and optimized image loading.
Personalize it, even for anonymous visitors. Machine-learning-powered personalization is great for dynamically customizing your message or product or image shown based on firmographic, behavioral and contextual data. So be sure to create dynamic content for visitors that you only know surface-level anonymous data on (often location).

Need help with this? That’s kind of our jam as a digital agency partner.

Check out the full post by Search Engine Land for more tips on creating a great first impression.

17 Types of Content to Be Using

DECEMBER 14, 2022

Today we want to throw a little refresher your way about the importance of diversity in your content marketing. You should always test out new formats and channels when the same old content isn’t giving you the desired results.

Times shift and different users go through different ways of absorbing information. Sometimes visuals work best, sometimes it should be gamified.

Before you choose any content type, just be sure it can fulfill the right goals for your brand.

Your content should…

Provide value
Promote your brand/product/service
Be targeted to your specific desired audience
Actively move customers along the purchasing journey
Be shareable

So here are the 17 essential types of content you can use for marketing:

Blogs
Case Studies
Checklists
Reviews or Testimonials
Ebooks
Email Marketing
Guides and How-Tos
Infographics
Interactive Content
Interviews/Q&As
Listicles
Podcasts
Social Media Posts
User-Generated Content
Videos
Webinars
Whitepapers

Check out the full post by Search Engine Journal for all the deets and examples of each content type.

Making the Most of a Security Breach

DECEMBER 13, 2022

It can be extremely difficult to gain the trust back from users if you experience a security breach or crisis. So while obviously the first piece of advise in risk management is to prevent it in the first place, you should also be prepared if it does happen.

Brands should look at it as an opportunity to provide more communication, more collaboration, and more transparency to users. While actively prioritizing better processes and investing in better risk management, turn a negative into a positive.

Here are 3 approaches to bounce back from a breach:

Pre-Breach Approach. Transparency goes a long way. Public disclosure of security policies and certifications shows your commitment to security. While that can be shown publicly on social media, email communications, or hosted on your website, it is also important to have this up-to-date information available to stakeholders as well.
Breach Approach. When an incident does happen, make it a rule that you should NOT rush to conclusions. Decide on a small, trusted group of experts PLUS third-party supporters at the ready. Then when it comes to investigating and reporting, be sure to include an executive summary, technical details, and regular updates.
Post-Breach Approach. Stress ongoing commitment, governance policies, and cyber investment. Don’t be afraid to actively highlight technical threats and vulnerability management processes.

Check out the full sunnyside perspective about breaches and crisis management on the MarTech Series blog.

7 Myths About TV Advertising

DECEMBER 12, 2022

Millions of people watch TV every day. And even with the growth of streaming (both ad-free and ad-tiered), traditional TV broadcasts are still some of the most popular and viewed forms of entertainment. And yet, we still hear some misconceptions about TV ads. So let’s break down those myths.

TV isn’t relevant. TV is still effective for advertising with the right approach. Addressable TV helps advertisers precision-target their ads and deliver more relevant messaging.
My brand is too small to advertise on TV. A big misconception is that TV ads aren’t targeted. That’s far from the truth as household and cable data targeting has become as nearly precise as IP and online shopping behavior data.
It’s difficult to measure the ROI. TV now has similar self-service and third-party data tracking as PPC and search campaigns.
Recessions make TV advertising a bad idea. Investing in your marketing now is critical to ensure your brand stays relevant in the short term and reinforces its value in the longer term. TV advertising could be a crucial part of that investment for your brand.
It’s all too complicated. You just have to start with a goal in mind. All channels have pros and cons. Once you understand your goal, treat TV like any other channel that requires a budget and assets to support that end goal.
I can’t afford decent creative. Speaking of assets, you don’t need to be Spielberg to make a TV ad. Thanks to technology, it doesn’t have to be high budget to be high quality. You just have to put effort into your messaging more than production.
I won’t be able to scale if my ads are too successful. Sounds like a good problem to have, right? Many small brands fear they will grow beyond their capabilities to fulfill business if their ads are too widespread. Advertisers can test their campaign in certain areas plus there are options to pause or cap coverage.

There are some big differences between the old ways of TV advertising. Check out the full post for more info!

Uh-Oh! Your Error Messages are Underwhelming

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Error! Try again. Oops! Uh-oh! 404! Something went wrong…

We’ve all encountered errors, redirects, dead ends, and unknown issues on the internet. It can be frustrating. So if your brand’s site, app, or product runs into an issue, what do your users see? These messages can be a big deal for a smooth user experience.

Let’s start with the anatomy of a typical error message:

While there’s technically nothing “wrong” with this message, that doesn’t make it right. Here’s what makes it weak:

Inappropriate tone. There aren’t many scenarios people want to hear “oops,” so why is it in your important messages? We love clever 404s and gamified Easter eggs here and there, but no one is smiling if they lose their data, time, or patience.
Technical jargon. People don’t care about the technical stuff unless you are providing a solution as well. So try to keep it out of the error notice unless it’s relevant.
Passing the blame. Focus on the issue instead of blaming the user, the action used in error, or other forces like integrations gone wrong.
Generic non-solution. Sometimes we don’t know what caused the error, and that’s understandable. But when you know the cause and leave it ambiguous, you’re not giving users any solutions, options, or confidence.

So let’s make good on your messages:

Here’s what makes this example better:

Say what happened and why. Be clear on what did or didn’t happen. Use images if you have to, too. Then be sure to explain, when possible, why they are receiving the error message.
Provide reassurance. Where possible, let them know what was NOT affected by the error. This is especially true for recovered or auto-saved data.
Be empathetic. “Please” can go a long way in a stressful situation.
Help them fix it. Tell them exactly what to do for solutions to the issue. Sometimes that can mean a simple direction, sometimes it’s linking knowledge base articles.
Always give a way out. Don’t leave them hanging if they can’t fix the problem, or if it’s possible the issue could keep happening, provide them with a way to reach out.

Check out the full post by Wix to see more examples and data behind improving your error messages.

Best Corporate Gifts for Employees in 2022

DECEMBER 7, 2022

We asked you guys a little while back if you wanted gift guides and the results were pretty close between gifts for employees, gifts for clients, and gifts for yourself (ya bunch of Grinches). The winner was gifts for employees so here we are with your gift guide for your coworkers, colleagues, and teams.

So buckle up, because TeamBuilding.com put together the ultimate list for remote teams, employee appreciation gifts, and ideas for holiday gift exchanges.

Top Gift Shops

We don’t know your coworkers, but there has to be something for everyone on one of these top sites for gifts large and small.

Bespoke Post
Snack Nation
Uncommon Goods
Snappy

Holiday Gift Ideas

Heated Coffee Cups – For the people you really like, check out Ember or Cauldryn mugs.
Baskets of Goodies – It’s just a tried and true gift to put together the best snacks and sweets you can think of, especially local favorites.
Subscription Boxes – If you know someone’s passion or hobby, fuel that fire!

Gifts For Remote Employees

WFH Survival Kits – It can be as simple as a desk accessory, daily inspo, or something for comfort.
Noise Cancelling Headphones – For anyone looking for some deep focus, or just peace and quiet.
Custom Message Donuts – ‘Nuff said.

Thank You Gifts

More snacks – Like we said, it’s tried and true because everyone loves some sort of munchie.
PTO – This isn’t on TeamBuilding.com’s list, but we see it all the time as the most appreciated bonus to employees (besides an actual monetary bonus).
Event Tickets – For the team that would appreciate a baseball outing or ticket gift cards.

Still stumped? There is always gift cards to Starbucks or your local coffee shop.

Check out the full list that includes retirement, birthday, and work anniversary gift ideas, too.